


Gray To Black

by Currently_Obsessed



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abnegation Faction, Alternate Universe - Divergent Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dauntless Faction, Dauntless Faction Initiation, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:04:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13821348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Currently_Obsessed/pseuds/Currently_Obsessed
Summary: Lance wore gray his whole life. He was sick of gray. He wasn't selfless enough for gray. So he makes a selfish, life altering decision to change factions when he and the rest of the 16 year olds are meant to during the Choosing Ceremony.The thing his, during his Aptitude Test, he got a dangerous result of inconclusive. He got three Factions he could choose from, Abnegation, Dauntless, and Amity.If he chooses the safe route of Abnegation, he gets to stay with his large family. If he chooses Dauntless, he is meant to be brave and fearless. And if he chooses Amity, he will spend his days farming, singing and safe.He just wants his freedom.So he chooses. He goes from Gray to Black. And once there, he finds himself fighting not only the other initiates, but for a spot within the faction and for his life.He meets the boy that administered his test, and together with Lance's new friend they fight for their lives when they find out that faction Rebels, known as Galra, are planning a war.





	Gray To Black

I sat in front of the small mirror that was almost always hidden away. I was trimming my brother's hair like I did every three months. I already did it for my younger sister, Veronica; her hair already swept away. I could tell that Luis was trying not to look into the mirror since it was considered selfish in our faction, but Luis was only six. He was naturally curious about everything. I always smiled when he was outside looking at the different bugs that he's found.

I sighed. Mother and abuela already left for work at the Hub. 

"Luis, listen to me, Mamá and abuela aren't here." He caught my eye in the mirror. I smiled at him as I started trimming a new spot on his head. "You can look; I won't tell." I never did, but it was this trait of me that usually got me into trouble. 

It was supposed to be my duty to make sure they have a good example in the home. I was the oldest still living at home considering my older siblings already chose their new lives or are living with their families with their own children to raise. I think only one of my older sisters chose to leave Abnegation.

She decided to live in Amity. We figured she would; she was very sweet and wanted peace between the other's our age. She was a few years older than myself, so I hope that she has settled into her new faction well.

"But," he started. I smiled, raised a hand to my mouth, before making it look like I zipped my lips shut and locked it with a key. 

"I won't tell if you won't," I said, smoothing out his hair. He nodded frantically. 

"Alright." I brushed the hair off his shoulders. "Now I got to get ready for school; I have a very important test that I need to do today, okay?" I said, spinning Luis to face me. I crouched and looked at him in his bright blue eyes. The same color that all my siblings were; the same that mine are.

"Is it the same important test that took Maria away, Lancelot?" He asked. My shoulders slumped slightly. He didn't understand quite what was going on right now. But as Mamá and Abuela aren't here, I took it upon me to tell him.

"Yes, but the test didn't take her away. She was unhappy here; she wanted to be with people that were like her. She felt like she couldn't be herself here, but you have to remember, we see Maria whenever we go and help with the farming. She is happier now," I told him. "You want your sister to be happy right?" I asked.

He pouted but nodded. "It would be selfish to keep her here if she was unhappy; even if it made us happy," I told him. He gasped; tears filled his eyes and he hugged me. We didn't usually show physical affection in our faction, but I let it slide since he clearly needed it.

"I want everyone to be happy," he admitted. I smiled sadly. 

"I know," I said, but sometimes, that's impossible. I just didn't tell him that. I didn't want to break his heart. I hugged him tightly before he ran off to get ready for school. I sighed before doing the same. After cleaning up the hair that laid at my feet in a brown semicircle, I slid the mirror away and want back to my room.

I changed from my current clothes into clean ones I had for school. Everything in my closet was gray. The clothes were very plain gray trousers, a gray undershirt, and a button-up shirt. We always wore them even with the top button buttoned as to be modest. 

I brushed my neatly trimmed hair off to the side, going the same way with my natural cowlick. I slid on my gray tennis shoes and ran out the door. Since I was closer to the center of the town, I didn't need to take the bus. I also thought that someone else would need that spot.

Unlike the other members in Abnegation, I wasn't as selfless as I am supposed to me. I tend to forget to forget myself and think only of others. Plus, my sense of humor was very offputting to the other members of my faction. 

I arrived at the school with 15 minutes to spare. 

So, I watched the train tracks as it went by; streaks of black followed by shouts of joy filled the air as the children from Dauntless started to arrive. Some rolled as they landed, while others staggered as they landed on their feet.

I sighed as I started to go to class. They seemed so free; all of the other factions did, but I felt like my faction was very restricted when it came to living. Yes, I believed that people needed to be selfless, but I still felt as if they weren't the only ones who needed to be thought of. But what about me?

We needed to think of ourselves eventually; like when I broke my collarbone when I was 10, I needed to think of myself on how to make it hurt less. I couldn't think about how other's needed my help since I couldn't do anything because moving my arm hurt too much.

I eventually heard the rowdy crowd of the Dauntless coming up behind me. I looked behind me and saw a pair of purple eyes glaring at me. I knew him; we had a lot of the same classes together. 

Keith Kogane.

His raven black hair was ridiculously long; it fell to his shoulders, slightly curling as it did so. It also had way too long bangs, falling in his eyes more often than not. I heard other's around him call it a mullet. I didn't know exactly what that was, but I would trust that it was a terrible hairstyle. I pressed my back against the wall to let the group pass.

"Stiff!" I heard someone call out. I looked up and saw that it was Keith.

"Um, yes?" I said. "Did you need something?" I asked, falling into the mindset of an Abnegation.

Keith gave me a once over. "You... good luck today on your Aptitude Test," He said. The Aptitude Test was the test that every 16 year old is supposed to take to find out which faction we belong in. "I'm not sure how many other people would say that to you, with you being a stiff and all," he said, using the nickname the Dauntless had for the Abnegation; but when he said it, it wasn't with malice-he sounded genuine.

"Oh, thanks, you too. Just don't hesitate to ask if you need anything," I said. He held out his hand. I saw other dauntless do this; shaking hands. I didn't take his hand, so he eventually dropped it. He looked uncomfortable with this simple interaction between us.

"Sorry, I forgot that Abnegations don't touch each other," he said. 

He smiled softly at me; which was weird, before heading back with his people.

I knew instantly where he would end up, with his hotheadedness; even with his softer edges most likely rarely shows, he was definitely staying in Dauntless.

I sighed, peeled myself off the wall and headed to my class. I sat next to an Erudite boy who was on the bigger side. His dark skin was a few shades darker than mine. My family originated from Cuba; a country that was far away from the City now, but it made it to where my family has naturally darker skin. Maybe this boy was the same.

I didn't say anything as the teacher started on the lesson. It was the history of the City and the fences surrounding them, but I have heard the same stories since I was in my first year at school. So even though I took notes, I didn't exactly pay attention to the lesson. I wasn't going to be returning to this school after the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow anyway. 

The Choosing Ceremony was the most important day of the year as it was where the 16 year olds who just took their Aptitude Tests actually got to choose the faction they wanted to live in. If they actually went into the faction their tests results gave is another story. We aren't supposed to talk about our results with anyone. Not even family. 

It was just inherently thought that they chose the result of their test. Most people stay within the faction they were born into, but there are those who do change over.

It's more rare for those in Abnegation to change since it's seen as selfish to change into another faction. There hasn't been a person who transfered out of Abnegation in 2 years. He was the son of one the faction leaders, Ulaz Shirogane. 

Each class after that was just as short as the first; we were all done by lunch as it was.

I looked around the room. Each faction was separated into its own groups. The Erudite table, loud and talking about something that was most likely smart. They believed that knowledge was the most important thing that humans could have. They believe that if you are smart, that you were above fighting one another; they all wore blue and many of them wore glasses to look smarter. I spotted the heavier set boy that I sat next to today in class. He had both muscle and fat on him. But I figured that it was more hereditary than caused by overeating. 

Then there was the Candor table; they believed in truth and honesty. I knew right there that I couldn't fit in with them. I lied not only to my family and faction but to myself as well. They wore black and white, thinking that everything in the world was black and white. I nearly snorted at the thought.

I looked over at the Amity table; there were several groups that were playing silly games. I saw a game where they sang as they clapped their own and each other's hands to the rhythm of the song. I liked them alright. They wore yellows, reds, and oranges. I was slightly jealous of their carefree attitudes.

Then I saw the Dauntless table; the loudest of all the factions, that included the Erudites. They were all laughing and pushing each other around. Many of the older ones had tattoos and piercings. I saw Keith, but he wasn't interacting with any of the other members at his table. In fact, he wasn't looking at any of them; he was looking over at my table. 

It scared me, so I looked away. 

People started calling names to take our tests; two from each faction at a time. Slowly the crowns slowly got smaller. They called us in alphabetical order of our last names. 

When I was finally called, about half of everyone was already tested. 

I stood on shaky legs as I was led into a mostly empty room. Inside the room, only a machine and a chair. The room was wall to wall mirrors, so I saw myself from every angle. I only waited a short while before a man, maybe a few years older than myself, walked in. He was a Dauntless based on his tattooed arm and his black clothes. He was very bulky with muscle and had a pink scar across the bridge of his nose. His eyes were almond shaped and gray. He had an undercut and his bangs were styled into a longer forelock that was white compared to the rest of his naturally black hair.

He smiled warmly at me as he closed the door behind him.

We were always given test administers that were not from our faction since people thought that would give them an advantage. Most of the test administers were Abnegation, but since they did two at a time from our faction, at least two test administers couldn't be from Abnegation.

"Hello, my name is Shiro. I'll be administering your test today. You're Lancelot McClain," he said, quite matter-of-factly.

"Yes," I said. I wondered if Shiro was only a nickname as I looked up at his white forelock of hair that fell in between his eyes. He started to set up this test for me and I sat down in the chair. He then started to hook up electrodes to my forehead, temples and to the back of my neck. 

"Here, drink this," he said, handing me a paper cup with clear liquid in it. I sniffed it causing Shiro chuckled at my antics; it smelt simply of water. I looked up at him and his eyes were far softer than I had ever seen any Dauntless member before.

"What is all this?" I found myself asking. He chuckled a few times. I blushed and looked down into the cup. "Sorry," I muttered.

"Don't be, I just have never met a stiff that questioned something before," he said. "Its got a sort of serum in it. After drinking it, you will fall into the simulation after sixty seconds, and the test will begin," he explained. "It will be sent to the machine with the electrodes to be analyzed and I can view it on the screen here." He pointed to the machine with his heavily tattooed arm. It looked almost robotic. 

He saw me staring at his arm and sighed softly. "It's real in case you were curious. It happened in an accident; the Erudite made me a replacement." His eyes got dark, but he didn't say anything more about it.

"I would say I am sorry, but I guess you don't want some stranger's pity," I said before downing the drink. "Well, I better get started then, huh?" I said. He smiled gratefully and reclined my chair slightly. "How long will I be under?" I asked.

"Depends on you, to be honest. Everyone is different." I nodded at this information. I could be under for a few seconds, or for an hour. It all depended on me.

I relaxed and let the simulation take over.

* * *

I woke up by myself in a room with nothing but a table. I walked over to it and it had a chunk of cheese and a gun. I looked at the weapon with hesitation. 

"Choose only one," a female voice asked.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to see if I was still alone. I was. "Who's there?" I asked.

"Just choose one," the voice said again. I turned back to the table and looked at both items. I wondered briefly what both of these had to do with the simulation I was in.

I reached out hesitantly towards the gun. They wouldn't just put that here for no reason, but my hand drifted towards the cheese for a moment. I bit my lip and pulled my hand away. 

"Why?" I asked. The voice sighed; she sounded irritated at this point.

"Fine, don't choose." Both items disappeared. Moments later, I heard the squeak of a door opening and I turned to see a dog standing there. I heard it snarl at me. The animal was on the larger side and had shiny, dark brown, short fur. Its tail was long and thin, just like its legs and snout. It also looked like it had two thick but short light brown eyebrows over each dark eye. The paws, chest, and parts of the snout was a lighter brown than the rest of its fur, the same color as its eyebrows. The ears were long and stood up to a point.

 My eyes widened with fear. I could see why they would put the cheese and the gun out for us now. I wanted to run, but the dog was blocking the only exit. The dog stalked towards me and I quickly thought about the lessons I had on my animals. 

I knew that dogs didn't like being looked in the eyes, but what else?

I wondered briefly if I could use the table as a barricade, but I knew I would never make it. So I dropped to the floor and looked at it. I heard the click of the dog's claws on the hard floor as it got closer to me. I wanted to hold my breath, but I tried to remain calm. They said that dogs could smell fear, so I controlled my breathing and counted in my head. I felt the hot breath of the dog as it sniffed me. I clenched my jaw tightly but didn't dare look up.

The dog's demeanor changed instantly. It became more playful as it began to lick my face. I couldn't help it; I started laughing. I slowly sat up as to not scare it and I started to pet its sleek fur. 

"Oh, you're not as scary as you want to be, huh, boy?" I said as I pet between its ears.

The dog started loving on me back like crazy after that. I kept petting it all over and cooing at it in a baby voice. It didn't seem to mind the voice as much as I thought it would.

That's when things took a turn for the worse. 

"Doggy!" A little girls voice called out of the other side of the room. Both the dog and I shot up from our spot on the cold, hard floor. The dog started to snarl again, charging at the little girl.

I didn't even think after that. 

"No!" I screamed as I chased after the dog. I was glad, for once, of my long legs, because I caught up to the dog and tackled it without thinking.

"Run, Kid!" I shouted as we tumbled to the floor.

Its teeth bit down on my arm hard; I clenched my teeth against the pain.

If this was only a test, then why did this hurt so much? I asked myself.

But before I could get an answer, the scene and room changed. One moment, I was wrestling an angry dog; the next, I stood on a crowded bus, holding on the railing over my head. 

"Do you know this man?" A gnarled voice asked. I turned to see who spoke and saw a man reading a newspaper, his gangly fingers pointing to the man on the front page. 

I recognized the man, but I didn't remember why.

"Well, do ya, kid?" He asked.

My mouth went dry. I didn't want to say if I knew or not, but I knew I couldn't not say anything. 

I cleared my throat. "No, sir, I'm sorry, I don't." He lowered the paper just enough to look at me, his eyes hard as he glared at me. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, but I didn't look away from him.

"You sure kid?" He asked.

I found that I couldn't say anything more, so I simply nodded my response. He tossed the paper to the side. He looked severely burned. My eyes widened. 

"It's too bad; if you did know, then you could have saved me," he said. I clenched my jaw and squared my shoulders.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know who that man is," I said defiantly. 

Then the scene changed again. This time I stood in a field; a few people arguing, not too far from where I stood.

"What is this?" I asked out loud. But I didn't get a response.

"Oi!" One member of the arguing pair called out. I flinched at their harsh tone. "Get over here!" They called out.

I slowly made my way over to the pair and they both wore a face of disdain for one another. I gripped the hem of my shirt and looked at the two people.

They were both indescribable; not so much that they were beautiful and whatnot, more like they were very plain and imperceptible from one another. They possessed a face that you would pass by without a second thought if you were both on the sidewalk together. You would notice that someone was there, but you couldn't describe them. I couldn't even tell what gender they were.

"What seems to be the problem?" I asked. 

The one to my right spoke first. "They took that from me!" They said pointing to the item in the other's hands. I couldn't tell what it was; it was like this part of the test wasn't thought of before it was started.

"I had it first!" The one of my left said, holding the vague object closer to their chest. 

"Why don't you just share it?" I offered. "There is an old saying," I said with a friendly smile. "Sharing is caring!"

* * *

That's when I opened my eyes. I was back in the room again with Shiro.

"Ugh, that was... interesting," I said. "Is it like that for everyone?" I asked, looking up at a very shocked looking Shiro. "Um... did I fail or something?" I asked. 

"Lancelot? How did...?" He shook his head and cleared his throat. He rushed over and started to unhook me from the electrodes. "Nevermind, I'm sure you are just curious on what your result was," He said with an uneasy smile.

"Um, yes please," I answered. He started to chew on his lips and just started messing with the machine, not answering me. "Shiro?" I asked.

He sighed and gave me a small smile. "Sorry, I was distracted."

I was slightly skeptical about his response. If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed that he was hesitating to tell me my results. Once he was done with the machine, he sighed and pulled the chair I didn't see on the other side of the machine to where I still sat on the reclining one. His eyes were filled with fear and worry at this point.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed deeply, running a hand down his face before sitting next to me.

"You got Abnegation," He said. I was filled with a sense of confusion. "And Dauntless and Amity."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, what the crow does that mean? I thought this test was only supposed to give me one result," I said. He chuckled darkly.

"It's designed to eliminate all but one result. But that's not always the case. It's very rare, but it does happen. To the people who established the factions, they considered this dangerous since they didn't fit into only one category. But it's not; not entirely. They just thought it dangerous since the people who are like you could start a rebellion quite easily since they thought with more than one mindset," Shiro said.

"So what is it called?" I asked. 

"Divergent."

I nodded. I could have sworn that I heard that word before, but I didn't know where.

"And that is dangerous, got it. I'm just a ticking time bomb then," I tried to joke.

"This isn't funny! You could get killed for being this!" He said seriously. His eyes were dark. It started to scare me as he sat there staring at me.

"So what do I do?" I asked softly.

He looked around the room for something. For what, I didn't know. 

"Look, I know I shouldn't say this, but I think I can help you. Whatever faction you join, I will try and help in any way that I can. I know a few people that keep this quiet if you want. Just... be careful out there, Lance... Um, is it okay to call you Lance?" He asked.

I nodded. He smiled easily again. "Good luck in your decision, Lance. Who knows, maybe we'll see each other again," he said. "Here. You can go out this exit. Don't stay here. Just go straight home. I have to enter your results manually so it doesn't say inconclusive. Just tell your family that you got sick after the test and went home early," He said opening a second door for me.

"Thank you, Shiro." And with that, I slipped out of the door and made my way home. I sighed heavily as I grabbed my book bag on my way. 

My way home was nearly silent. The only thing that was heard was the rhythmic slapping of my shoes on the concrete. I gripped the straps of my backpack and stared at my feet.

I didn't show it to Shiro, but I was actually freaking out quite a bit in my head. 

Questions floated around my skull as I continued to walk.

What did he mean I could be killed just because my brain wasn't like other people's? Why was being Divergent dangerous? A possible rebellion? Really? Like I could start a rebellion. I didn't even know anything about rebelling.

And what did he mean by he knew other people who could keep this quiet? Did that mean that there were others he knew that were like me?

I groaned as I sat on my front steps. I wanted to wait a little longer before heading in. I placed my head between my knees and focused on my breathing. 

"Lance, Sweetheart? What's wrong?" My mother's voice eventually asked after I was sitting there for a half an hour. 

I lifted my aching neck. She stood there with a brown paper bag in hand. Her dark brown hair was tied into a high bun, her gray skirt nearly scraping the ground as she walked.

"Hi Mamá," I said.

She smiles down at me before sitting by my side. "Mijo, whats wrong? You're home early," she said. 

"I wasn't feeling well after the test, so they had me come home," I explained. She nodded in understanding. 

"Was it nerves?" She asked, placing a warm hand on my forehead. "You aren't warm."

"It must have just been the nerves then. I have been both nervous and excited about this day for years," I admitted. "Mamá, I'm fine now that it's over, though," I promised. She smiled down at me and stood up, straightening her skirt. 

"That's good to hear, Mijo. Let's start dinner and then you can have a quiet night to self to think about your decision." I nodded and followed her inside.

I sighed to myself. She was right about one thing. I did need time to think about what I'm going to do. 

This is going to be so damn difficult. 


End file.
